Number 3: Hyper Independence
You only feel truly safe when you are completely alone. Hyper-independence: it’s not that you hate people, it’s that being around them, even people you like, drains you. You feel like you have to be “on.” You overthink everything you say, you read between every line, monitor your tone, your face, your energy, and expressions, because everything feels draining and beyond overwhelming.
Alone is the only place where you can finally breathe. There is no one to decode, no one to please, and no threat of being blindsided. And while parts of you want connection, the other part would rather stay behind closed doors because it’s safe. This is social anxiety, but more than that, this is what happens when your nervous system has been trained to believe that people equal danger.
Number 4: Disconnected Se*x*uality
Your se*x*uality feels disconnected, robotic, or shameful. You feel numb during physical intimacy and perform rather than participate. You even feel waves of guilt or self-disgust afterward. Why? Because your body still carries the memory of being used and not loved. Narcissists distort intimacy; they distort the concept of it.
They turn it into a transaction, a performance, or a punishment, and that distortion does not disappear just because the relationship ends. It lingers. Healing means relearning what your own body feels like when it is not being watched, judged, or controlled. It takes time, and it’s not your fault that it feels off right now.
Continue reading on the next page
Sharing Is Caring!
